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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27737338">His Butler, Beside Him</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfRavens/pseuds/QueenOfRavens'>QueenOfRavens</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Era, Demons, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, One Shot, Sharing a Bed, Short One Shot, Victorian Attitudes, no beta we die like men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:55:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>753</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27737338</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfRavens/pseuds/QueenOfRavens</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian may be an unknowable, ageless demon, but that does not mean he can't enjoy the finer things in life. </p><p>Or, an excuse for domestic fluff based on that one scene where Ciel asks Sebastian to stay with him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sebastian Michaelis &amp; Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian Michaelis/Ciel Phantomhive</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>113</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>His Butler, Beside Him</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I couldn't find the fic I wanted to read, so I wrote it. <br/>I also wrote it at 1AM whilst sick with the plague so if there are any errors, at least you know why. </p><p>Hope you enjoy, and as always, comments and kudos are appreciated.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the eve of a fine day as Ciel sat at the window of his office, staring out over grounds set aflame by the setting sun. </p><p>“My lord?”</p><p>“Sebastian.”</p><p>“Is something troubling you, my lord?”</p><p>Ciel turned from the window to the tall figure in the room, “No.”</p><p>The flicker in Sebastian’s eyes told he doubted it, but he bowed politely, “Of course, my lord. Is there anything else?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>His butler left with not even a scuff of his sole against the carpet. </p><p>Ciel turned back to the window, watching the bloody sunset bath the manor grounds in red. </p><p>Snippets of song played in his head, hauntingly eerie and devoid of origin. </p><p>London bridge was falling down.</p><p>Maybe, though it hadn’t even been fully constructed yet. </p><p>Falling down or not, that tune played through his mind, looping and twisting, curling around his thoughts and tangling them. </p><p>He slid from the windowsill and strode from the office. </p><p>-</p><p>“Sebastian!”</p><p>“Yes, my lord?”</p><p>“I should like to retire for the night, Sebastian.”</p><p>“Of course. Shall I draw you a bath?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“As you wish, master.”</p><p>Ciel stood stock still as Sebastian’s careful fingers undid his waistcoat buttons, then his cravat. </p><p>“Now tell me, young master,” Sebastian’s burnt orange eyes glanced up at him, “What is it that troubles you?”</p><p>“That mansion. Who was pulling the strings? If the doll-maker was just a toy himself, who was behind it all?”</p><p>“I don’t know. But we will find it out.”</p><p>“Of course,” Ciel murmured, looking over the butler’s head at the darkened sky. </p><p>“You fret.” Sebastian stated, his fingers pausing on the buttons of Ciel’s shirt, the perfect silk of his gloves brushing Ciel’s chest. </p><p>“Shut up.” Ciel said. </p><p>Sebastian chuckled, undoing the last of the buttons, “There.”</p><p>“Does your gaze linger?” Ciel asked as Sebastian turned towards the wardrobe. </p><p>“And if it does?” The butler asked smoothly, pulling Ciel’s nightshirt from its hangar. </p><p>“It is not befitting of a butler to stare. Still…”</p><p>“Yes?” Sebastian purred, dropping the shirt over Ciel’s head. </p><p>“Do you stare because you are hungry, or, because you appreciate what you see?”</p><p>“Can it not be both, my young master?” Sebastian’s face was inches from Ciel’s as his fingers tied short the ribbon at the neckline of the shirt. </p><p>His breath was warm and he smelled of lavender perfume and light detergent; perhaps to disguise the lingering scent of something ancient and ineffable.</p><p>The shudder down Ciel’s spine was not willing to be ignored. </p><p>Ciel stared at the head of black hair in front of him. </p><p>“Come now, do not underestimate yourself.” Sebastian stood, smiling down at Ciel who stood, having lost all his wits, silently. </p><p>Sebastian turned back the cover of the bed and bowed politely, “Good night, my lord.”</p><p>“Wait.” Ciel’s voice was soft as he grabbed Sebastian’s cuff, halting him in his tracks.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Stay with me.”</p><p>“Is that vulnerability I detect, my lord?”</p><p>“No. Simply curiosity.”</p><p>“Ah, of course.” The grin in his butler’s voice did not escape him. </p><p>“Sebastian.”</p><p>“Wouldn’t dream of it, my lord.”</p><p>“Good.”</p><p>Ciel crawled into bed, Sebastian’s scent eclipsed by the smell of freshly laundered linens, although aroma was a more apt term to describe whatever that demon smelled like. </p><p>The heavy curtains hissed closed, leaving them in near darkness. </p><p>Ciel could only make out the faint outline of Sebastian’s form through the gloom. </p><p>He turned his head, eyes straining in the darkness to followed his butler, “Where are you going?”</p><p>“I had intended to sit by the door, but if that does not please you, well then…”</p><p>“Oh just get in the bed, you insufferable oaf.”</p><p>Sebastian’s smile was practically audible.”</p><p>“If you would so wish it, my lord.” He drawled.</p><p>“I do. Now shut up and do as you are told.”</p><p>There was a soft rustling of fabric and then Ciel felt the bed dip as Sebastian climbed beneath the covers. </p><p>When he put his hand out, his fingers met cloth, the soft weave of Sebastian’s shirt over muscle and bone. </p><p>“I’m flattered.”</p><p>Ciel just coughed unimpressedly and Sebastian chuckled. </p><p>“Give me your hand,” Ciel murmured.</p><p>Sebastian’s fingers were warm and softly calloused where they met Ciel’s.</p><p>"Your fingers are warm."</p><p>"I am a demon, after all."</p><p>"Hmm." Ciel shifted, rolling his body towards Sebastian. </p><p>“Not a soul will know of this.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t dream of it.” </p><p>With his fingers wrapped tightly around Sebastian’s hand, Ciel turned his head into the pillow and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.</p>
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